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Tainted Line
}} TAINTED LINE "Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" Skypaw must pick up the pieces of her father's mistake while carrying the consequences of his actions on her own shoulders... but nobody told her she would lose a part of herself in the process. . . . PROLOGUE Hushed murmurs spread throughout the camp, from the oldest elder to the youngest kit. The commotion that could be heard from every den dragged them outside, regardless of their previous activities. Their curiosity—and some might call nosiness—led them to draw their eyes on the leader’s den, listening as the unfriendly voices finally ceased. The sound of moving brambles alerted them to their leader leaving his den, his strong muscles propelling him upward to take his place on top of the stones that sheltered his den. His gray tabby fur bristled, and despite the lack of light that the setting sun gave off, they could see his amber eyes glistening with fury. Moments after he had announced his presence, another cat followed his path, moving out of the den with similar agitation, but a lot more nervous and foreboding. The darker tabby took hesitant steps with his eyes firmly planted ahead of him, as if he were ashamed to even look back. He did, however, turn back around when the leader called everyones’ attention to them. “Cats of AspenClan, gather beneath the High Stone!” The other cats looked bewildered. They almost thought they might have heard wrong. He did not use the familiar words to call a Clan meeting—this call was an order. Him demanding them to come and listen. Looking around in confusion, the cats would were already peering out started to gather, and those who had just settled in their dens came out when the sound of their Clan leader calling for them took away any chance of sleep. Even the only queen in the Clan, currently nursing her two kits, moved outside of her den. The focus of their attention soon moved to the gray tabby sitting in front of the High Stone, facing the leader. His yellow-green eyes faced amber, although the higher ground where the leader stood gave him much more of an advantage. The anger that radiated from his place atop the High Stone gradually moved to his clan mates as they grew increasingly interested in what was happening. One cat finally decided to speak up. “Silentstar, what has happened?” The question came from a well-built black and white she-cat. Her tail was high and her eyes and ears alert. Only a cat truly determined would come right out and demand an answer from their leader. As much as the other cats agreed that they would not do the same, they had to agree with her straight-forward approach, and turned their gazes back on the tabby who had called for them. “I want you all to listen. Pay attention and hear what I have to say.” Silentstar growled, his voice anything but as he addressed them. His amber eyes moved over the entire crowd before settling. “The cat you see before you has been convicted of treachery.” Anger yowls and shocked and confused expressions came as a result of his claim. They all looked to one another, hoping to find some sort of explanation from someone, but it appeared as though no one knew what to make of it. The call to order by their Clan leader drew their attention once more, although more and more cats were staring at the dark tabby who refused to lift his head from where he stood in the middle of the camp. “Your clan mate has broken the warrior code, as well as a moral code that we choose to follow,” he said. “Not only has he taken a mate while still bound with another—“ all of their eyes moved to the white she-cat standing by the nursery, who turned away at their looks. “But the she-cat he has chosen to court has loyalties to RavenClan!” The implications of his words spread throughout the Clan, and they didn’t even bother to hide their looks, which were quickly growing with anger and betrayal. When the tom finally raised his head, he met their stares head-on, not without defiance, but with a masked uncertainty. He didn’t even bother to try and deny it. “You are a cat without loyalty and are not faithful. The Warrior Code states: ‘You may have friendships with cats from other Clans, but your loyalty must remain to your Clan.’ Do you not remember the Warrior Code, Blotchfire?” The cat known as Blotchfire didn’t even twitch. “I know the Warrior Code inside and out, Silentstar.” “Then that brings up the question that everyone wants to know.” The leader snarled. “Why would such a ‘loyal’ cat do such a thing as break the Warrior Code? Not only that, but hurt his clan mates—his mate and kits?” The mask that the warrior held wavered as he looked at the she-cat, but she still did not dare look back at him. His gaze was locked on his own paws for a few moments before he lifted his head, holding a steady gaze as he replied. “I do not think I can give you an answer, Silentstar. I know what I did was wrong.” He said no more after that. “Do you have any words to say in your defense?” The tom asked, a challenge hidden beneath his question. A pregnant pause, and then, “No, I do not.” The whole of the Clan had stayed quiet until now, taking time to digest everything that had just been revealed to them. The cry of kits broke their concentration for just a moment, but Silentstar still called the attention to himself. “If you have nothing more to say, then I demand you leave this camp. This is no longer your Clan, and no longer your family.” The kits cries grew louder and more upset, but no one payed any attention to them as they watched the kits’ father accept judgment and his fate without so much as a request for forgiveness. His brilliant eyes met those of every cat in the clearing, one by one, before landing on the leader. A sense of silent communication passed through them, and with a simple nod, the tom turned around and left the camp. The trail of cries followed him out, as if mourning the loss of the devoted warrior. ''ALLEGIANCES''ASPENCLAN LEADER: * Silentstar - Light gray tabby tom with amber eyes. DEPUTY: * Scarletstream - Black and white she-cat with amber eyes. MEDICINE CAT: * Bristlefur - Dark gray tom with amber eyes. WARRIORS: * Duskleap - Dark brown tabby tom with green eyes. (Apprentice, Brackenpaw) * Embercloud - Cream tabby she-cat with pale green eyes. * Hailcry - White she-cat with black tail and smudges on head with amber eyes. * Jaggedclaw - Black tom with white chest and green eyes. (Apprentice, Skypaw) * Mudwhisker - Ashy-brown tabby tom with yellow eyes. (Apprentice, Whitepaw) * Quickbreeze - Cream and white she-cat with dark amber eyes. (Apprentice, Snowpaw) * Scorchpelt - Long-furred, off-white tom with tabby stripes and amber eyes. (Apprentice, Wrenpaw) APPRENTICES: * Brackenpaw - Brown marbled tabby tom with light amber eyes. * Skypaw - Silver and white tabby she-cat with blue eyes. * Snowpaw - White tom with one blue and one amber eye. * Whitepaw - Off-white she-cat with light tabby stripes and pale amber eyes. * Wrenpaw - Pale brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes. QUEENS: * Larksplash - Tortoiseshell and white she-cat with yellow eyes (Mother to Crowkit, a black tom with bright amber eyes, Echokit, a gray tabby tom with yellow eyes, and Mallowkit, a tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes). ELDERS: * Hollowstripe - Ginger and white tom with amber eyes. * Rushfall - Brown and white tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes. . . . WILLOWCLAN LEADER: * Brindlestar - Pale brown tabby tom with long fur and yellow eyes. DEPUTY: * Halfblaze - Off-white tom with darker points, one shredded ear, and pale blue eyes. MEDICINE CAT: * Swallowtuft - Blue she-cat with green eyes. (Apprentice, Perchcloud) MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE: * Perchcloud - Gray tabby she-cat with a white muzzle and yellow-green eyes. WARRIORS: * Adderstrike - Dark gray-black tom with amber eyes. (Apprentice, Birchpaw) * Briarsong - Pale gray she-cat with yellow eyes. * Stormlight - Black tom with yellow eyes. * Sunflame - Pale brown tabby she-cat with hazel eyes. (Apprentice, Mosspaw) * Leafshade - Cream tom with amber eyes. (Apprentice, Fernpaw) * Robinflight - Dark ginger and white tabby tom with amber eyes. (Apprentice, Wavepaw) * Russetstorm - Large red tom with long fur and green eyes. (Apprentice, Sootpaw) APPRENTICES: * Birchpaw - Cream and white tabby tom with amber eyes. * Fernpaw - Off-white she-cat with tabby markings and blue eyes. * Mosspaw - Dark brown tabby with pale amber eyes. * Sootpaw - Gray tabby tom with yellow eyes. * Wavepaw - Dark gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes. QUEENS: * Maplestream - Gray she-cat with yellow eyes (Mother to Morningkit, a cream she-cat with blue eyes, and Puddlekit, a brown and white tabby she-cat with blue eyes). * Rippleheart - Black she-cat with yellow eyes. ELDERS: * Troutfoot - Ashy-brown tabby tom with dark blue eyes. . . . RAVENCLAN LEADER: * Ivystar - Tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes. DEPUTY: * Flamestorm - Dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes. MEDICINE CAT: * Lichenmask - Large white tom with long fur and green eyes. WARRIORS: * Bramblestep - Brown and white tabby tom with green eyes. (Apprentice, Larchpaw) * Copperflame - Dark ginger tom with yellow eyes. (Apprentice, Mothpaw) * Tawnyleap - Cream tabby tom with blue eyes. * Nettlefrost - Dark gray and white tom with amber eyes. * Palestrike - Pale gray she-cat with blue eyes. (Apprentice, Flightpaw) * Petalbreeze - Black and white she-cat with pale green eyes. * Sagefur - Dark and light gray tabby tom with yellow eyes. (Apprentice, Cardinalpaw) * Shadefall - Black tom with amber eyes. APPRENTICES: * Cardinalpaw - Ginger tabby tom with amber eyes. * Flightpaw - White and gray she-cat with dark blue eyes. * Larchpaw - Ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes. * Mothpaw - Silver tabby she-cat with dark yellow eyes. QUEENS: * Redwhisker - Ginger tabby and white she-cat with dark green eyes (Mother to Ashkit, a gray tabby tom with a white chest and green eyes, and Foxkit, a red tabby she-cat with a lighter chest and pale green eyes). ELDERS: * Mistleaf - White she-cat with yellow eyes. * Dovecloud - Dark gray she-cat with amber eyes. . . . OUTSIDERS * Axel - Dark gray tabby tom with yellow-green eyes. * Kodi - Russet tom with pale yellow eyes. * Paris - Fawn-colored she-cat with amber eyes.